'Haunted' Hotel Terrifies Guests With Spooky Midnight Happenings

The Langham Hotel is one of the biggest traditional hotels in London, with a rich history of famous clientele like Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde. It was built between 1863 and 1865, and today boasts a five-star rating and 380 guest rooms and suites. Oh, and it's also haunted.

At least, that's what a bunch of English cricket players are saying. They're so freaked out by the mysterious goings-on they experienced at the Langham earlier this summer, a number of players asked to change rooms, and some of the players' wives and girlfriends have flat-out refused to stay in the hotel during the current test matches.

As it turns out, these players are hardly the first to get spooked by the hotel -- the Langham has quite the ghostly reputation. Particularly room 333.

Advertisement

Cricket player Stuart Broad told The Daily Mail he requested to move rooms last month when he was stationed at the Langham:

It was so hot in the room I just couldn't sleep. All of a sudden the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason. I turned the lights on and the taps turned themselves off. Then when I turned the lights off again the taps came on. It really freaked me out. I ended up asking to move rooms.

He described another sleepless night:

One night I woke up in the middle of the night, around 1:30 AM and I was convinced there was a presence in the room. It was the weirdest feeling. I turned the light on and looked online and could see Matt Prior was online, too. I went to his room and he said exactly the same thing! He was wide awake as well. Neither of us could sleep because we were so spooked out. Matt was in a twin room so I ended up sharing with him.

Broad said that his girlfriend was also scared, and another player's wife won't set foot in the hotel "because she's so frightened of the ghosts." He added that another player also experienced something creepy during the night:

He’s on the third floor, which is where a lot of the issues are. I’m telling you, something weird is going on.

Now, it's possible these players are simply reacting to the Langham's notorious history. The hotel's own website gleefully lays claim to being one of England's most haunted hotels, and describes a sighting of its "most famous" ghost, which haunts room 333:

In 1973 a BBC radio announcer James Alexander-Gordon awoke suddenly in the night to see a fluorescent ball which slowly took on the shape of a man wearing Victorian evening wear. The announcer asked the ghost what it wanted and it began to float towards him, with its legs cut off some two feet below the ground, arms outstretched, eyes staring emptily. At this point the announcer got up and fled.

Several "ghosts" have been spotted at the hotel over the years, including a doctor who murdered his wife while on honeymoon at the hotel before committing suicide, a man with a gaping wound on his face, a German prince who jumped out of a fourth-floor window, and a spirit who has a habit of tipping guests out of the beds in the middle of the night.

Actually, most people try to avoid (the room). Sometimes we have to put people there, but they're the ones who don't know about the stories. Me, I wouldn't even step foot on the third floor.

As for the Langham, they haven't commented on the cricket players' discomfort, but it's clear they enjoy the ongoing infamy: a hotel “Halloween Package” is priced at £333 and includes overnight accommodation, a "Tarantula Cocktail for 2," and a Jack the Ripper Ghost Walking Tour. Guests may request to stay in room 333 ... subject to availability, of course.

So, what's your call on this spooky hotel? Do you think the cricket players really experienced anything otherworldly, or were they unduly influenced by the rumors? And would YOU stay in room 333?